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1 Leaf blades of the lower stem lyrate-pinnatifid to lobate; involucre narrowly cylindrical, typically 2-3× as long as wide at anthesis; corolla pink to purplish (rarely red), the lobes 0.5-0.7 mm long (1.1-1.5 mm long in the Asian variety javanica), exserted only up to 2 mm beyond the involucre; style whitish pink to pink; pollen white
Leaves mostly on the lower portion of the stem, the larger lyrate-pinnatifid and petiolate; corollas lilac; involucre 3-4× as high as wide; flowers exserted < 2 mm beyond the involucre
1 Leaf blades of the lower stem entire to dentate (rarely lobed); involucre broadly cylindrical, typically 1.5-2 times as long as wide at anthesis; corolla pink to red or lobes pinkish and tube yellowish, the lobes 0.8-1.7 mm long, exserted up to 4 mm beyond the involucre; style whitish yellow to yellow-orange; pollen yellow-orange.
..2 Peduncle glabrate; involucre sparsely to moderately pilose at the apex, glabrate at the base; corolla pink to red, fairly uniform in color
..2 Peduncle pilose to glabrate; involucre sparsely to densely pilose at the apex, densely pilose to glabrate at the base; corolla lobes pinkish, the tube pale yellowish